4 Responses

I am honored to be able to say that Ron Trani Sr. was my uncle. I have so many great memories of his self-less character, his heart for others, his stories, his faith, and of course that funny laugh he did when he was going to chase us or wrestle us:) One of the most important memories for me was after I had placed my son for adoption. The situation was still very emotionally sensitive and because of that most people didn’t know how to respond….so they just didn’t. As a result most people kept a safe distance from me and the situation. One day I was able to have my birthson over for a visit. Uncle Ron just walked right over to the house and sat down to visit, like he had done so many times before. He just took the time to talk to me and meet my birthson. It seems little, but it meant the world. He was never afraid to get involved in someone else’s situation, good or bad. He cared for people and what they were going through. He was always giving jobs to the homeless or down and out, letting people live at his house and just generally serving humanity. I will miss you Uncle Ron…..but I look forward to seeing you again.

Ron Trani was a great man. Great because he lived a life of happiness and faith and he shared both of those gifts with everyone he knew. As I looked at the photo galleries, I saw Ron as I knew him in life, a happy man surrounded by a loving family. He was a generous person who gave of himself for the good of all others (without exception) and I can only hope he received the same from us in return.
I know Ron was a faithful man, because he shared some of that with me. At a certain time in my life when I had trouble believing in myself, Ron believed in me. Giving me an opportunity to help myself, he showed confidence in me. He had faith that I could succeed and he helped me grow as a person.

Cousin Ron was family and I’m thankful for that because that’s how I got to meet him. But more than that, Ron was my friend and I was very blessed to know him. I will miss him very much.

Sitting here thinking of my Uncle Ron, AKA “The Big Man”, I don’t think there has been any man that has had such an impact in my life besides my father. We spent so much time at the “Trani Compound” growing up that we considered it our second home. He commanded respect and loved unconditionaly. He was larger than life and
had nicknames for everyone of us. There have been few men in my life that I have admired and tried to emulate, and he was one of them. He gave blood, sweat, and tears for our Lord Jesus Christ, his country, and his family. I do not think that I have ever met someone who worked harder in life and had the ability to create something out of nothing. His projects always amazed me.
I was fortunate enough to spend a day working with him in Westcliffe about the time he started having problems working with his hands. He had forgot his medicine so halfway through the day he could hardly move his fingers. It was the first time that I had ever seen him stop while we were doing a project. As he sat and massaged his hands he became the supervisor and continued telling me stories about his adventures in life while walking me through the kitchen countertops. Some of the stories I had heard before and some were new,.We worked and laughed and the whole time I kept thinking to myself that everyone of these stories, as crazy as they were, were absolutly true.He always told me that God had to have been looking out for him for all of these things to happen like they did. As I said before, he was larger than life and lived that way.
I am glad that he is at peace now with the Lord, but I would be lying if I said I was not selfish and wished he were still with us today. Please Lord take care of him. I look forward to the day when I can sit next to him again and hear him laughing. A very big piece of our lives is gone. Rest in peace Uncle Ron, you will be lovingly remembered and missed.

I am so sad that my brother is gone. As I sit here in the quiet of the morning, I think back over the years. My earliest memories of my brothers are of skinny sun-browned boys all lanky but tough. They seemed to always be outdoors playing with our cousins Michael and Teddy, or perhaps other boys out there on Overton Road. Basketball, baseball, war… they’d dig fox holes in the field behind our house and fire gourds at each other. Sometimes they would take their guns up on the mesa and hunt pheasant. Once they actually got one and brought it home for Mom to cook. She tried to be a good sport about it, but… In the spring and summer they would ride the drag or buck bales for Papa and afterward would come home all sweaty and covered with field dust. They were wild and a bit of a mystery, but I was in awe of them. Ron was so athletic and handsome. It made me proud. When you are young you think those are the things that really matter. As I got older, even though he was still athletic and handsome, it was his other gifts that made him stand out. His creativity. His generosity. His stories. His ability to face adversity. His deep faith. His unconditional love for his family. During this last year Ron and I talked about the blessings of children and grandchildren. He was so proud of all that his children had become and the fact that they are each in their own way doing things for the greater good. What better legacy can a man leave behind.